Most people see insurance as a good thing. I see it as more of a necessary evil. The truth is that the large majority of people are losing money when they’re paying for insurance. Insurers wouldn’t take on your policy if it wasn’t going to be profitable for them. You’d be amazed at how good insurance companies are at predicting risks, which is why their business operations are so largely skewed towards getting new customers. Ever wonder why GEICO, Allstate, State Farm, and other auto insurers are so aggressive with their advertising? It’s because if you sign up, they’re going to make money. This means that generating leads for insurance companies is a huge business, and that’s why Seattle, WA based QuoteWizard came in at #36 on the Inc. 500 this year with 5,950.5% three-year revenue growth. They provide a simple online tool to help consumers find the best quotes for Auto Insurance, Home Insurance, Renter/Condo Insurance, Health Insurance, and Life Insurance. By organizing and presenting information in a simple way, QuoteWizard is able to generate a ton of leads for insurance companies—and for every lead they generate, they get paid. Continue reading about QuoteWizard…
I’m a big fan of location based networks. I’ve been using Foursquare since last July, but I have to admit that I’m getting a little bored of it. Facebook Places seems somewhat interesting, but it’s more because most of your friends already have accounts. If I’m going to be motivated to keep checking into places, I need an incentive. Foursquare occasionally gets me something for free, but the gaming element of the service seems like an afterthought. That’s why I was excited to check out SCVNGR when a reader recommended them as a company to feature. They’re based in Boston, MA, and their focus is on getting people to do challenges at specific places and share what they’ve done with friends. Their go to example is making tin-foil origami out of the wrapper from a burrito place and then uploading a picture of it, but I’ll bet that it can get way more interesting than that. For instance, anyone can build a set of challenges and treks with rewards on SCVNGR—I could take the Cornell Daily Sun’s list of 161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do and turn it into a SCVNGR trek. Maybe I could even team up with a sponsor to reward people who knock off certain items on the list. SCVNGR seems like a really fun way to learn about cool things to do and then share what you’re doing with friends. I can definitely see this taking off—maybe I’ll make a trek for getting an internship. Continue reading about SCVNGR…
There are a lot of things that you can do to get through college when money is tight. You can get a temporary job, you can do consulting, you can live with your parents, you can sell your blood, and you can even collect cans for the deposit money. But if you’re desperate for cash, you might as well start out with low hanging fruit. There’s a good chance that you have outdated electronics lying around your apartment or house. Maybe it’s a first generation iPhone or a video game system that you never play anymore. Why not sell it? You don’t even have to go to some sketchy neighborhood to find a pawn shop or meet some stranger from Craigslist. You just need to use Gazelle, a Boston based company that provides “a practical, responsible, rewarding way for consumers to get value for used electronics.” The are the “nation’s largest reCommerce company,” and they keep growing—they’re #24 on the Inc 500 list with a 7,119.7% three-year growth rate. Continue reading about Gazelle…
Looking good is key to interviewing well. If you’re not confident in how you look, you won’t be confident in how you speak. Clothes matter. Luckily, dressing well doesn’t have to be expensive. We’ve worked out deals to get you $50 off your first order at Bonobos and free access to Gilt Groupe’s daily sample sales. You’ll look good, feel good, and still have some money left to celebrate landing an internship.
I just got back home to Chicago on Saturday, and I arrived to see the latest issue of Inc. Magazine waiting for me on the kitchen counter. It’s a big day for me because it’s the Inc. 500 issue where they list the 500 fastest growing private companies in the United States. It’s my absolute favorite tool for finding new companies to feature, which is why we’re going to take a look at ModCloth today. They came in at #2 on the list with 17,191% growth over the past three years to get to over $15 million in revenue. And all of that growth has been “built on a foundation of love for vintage and retro clothing.” The company, which is based in both San Francisco and Pittsburgh, was started by high school sweethearts Eric Koger and Susan Gregg Koger, and they aim to “provide a fun and engaging shopping atmosphere” for their customers by using social media to interact with them. ModCloth is big on democracy, so customers actually get some say in the direction the company’s buyers take. Continue reading about ModCloth…
Since I’m too young to remember it, I’m sure that many of you are too. In 1989 “a major environmental disaster shook public confidence in corporate America—the Exxon-Valdez oil spill.” It made the environmental costs of business finally feel real to many people, and it resulted in the founding of a non-profit organization called Ceres. They are “a national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups” that work “with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change.” With the BP oil spill among other environmental crises, it’s quite clear that Ceres has lots more work to do after 20 years of operations. Still, Ceres, which is based in Boston, MA, has accomplished quite a bit in their mission to “integrate sustainability into capital markets.” They launched both the Global Reporting Initiative, which is “now the de-facto international standard used by over 1300 companies for corporate reporting on environmental, social and economic performance,” and the Investor Network on Climate Risk, which is “a group of more than 70 leading institutional investors with collective assets of more than $7 trillion.” They’re obviously a major player in sustainability, and they’re taking the right approach by working with businesses instead of fighting them. Continue reading about Ceres…
While my dad was in college, he and a few of his friends started a café. More than 30 years later, that café is still thriving and was one of my favorite brunch spots when I was at Cornell. The restaurant industry usually chews people up and spits them out, so it’s pretty unusual to see any restaurants last that long, let alone one started by a bunch of amateurs. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more college town success stories like Café Dewitt come out of CoFed, which is a Berkeley, CA non-profit that is “empowering students to create ethically-sourced, community-run cafés on college campuses.” CoFed is all about the triple bottom line, as they not only want to start successful cafés that offer delicious food, but they want to do it in a humane and sustainable way. Continue reading about CoFed…
Let me preface this post by saying that there is no way that I am going to do the topic justice. There’s just no way that I can properly bring to life the story of Lucasfilm when I’m just not all that into Star Wars. I’ve seen the trilogy, and I even saw the one or two of the movies from the prequel trilogy, but I’m not a fanatic. With that said, there are plenty of fanatical Star Wars fans and fans of George Lucas’ work. What he was able to do with late 70s/early 80s technology in the Star Wars movies is incredible, but what’s even more incredible is the excitement that Lucasfilm has been able to build around its franchises—mainly Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Lucasfilm is located in San Rafael, CA, while they also have a large presence in Singapore. They’re a monster name in the film and entertainment industry, and they also have businesses including Industrial Lights & Magic, Lucasarts, Lucasfilm Animation, Lucas Licensing, Lucas Online, and Skywalker Sound. Continue reading about Lucasfilm…
I’ve never done a live video event for job seekers, though I’ve seen a lot of others in the career space do them. I figure that the video content that Jason Seiden and I put together for Found Your Career is way better than anything that I can do on the spot. However, if you think that a live Q&A or something would be valuable, you should definitely let me know via e-mail at willy@onedayonejob.com. Since you’re probably going to bombard me with e-mails, I’ll probably have to sign up for Ustream, “the leading live interactive broadcast platform.” Ustream, which is based in San Francisco, was founded to enable soldiers stationed abroad to connect more efficiently with their families. The technology required for doing that has plenty of other capabilities, which is why Ustream can be used to broadcast nearly anything—from political debates to sporting events and from move premieres to interactive games. Shoot, Chad Ochocinco says, “Ustream is big for me. It allows me to have a voice.” And Continue reading about Ustream…
Over the weekend I was complaining about irresponsible government spending (most of which is the result of the generations that came before us). Now, our parents and grandparents may have left us with a nasty bill to pay, but we still owe them a lot. Which is why I encourage you to take care of your aging parents—much like I do by accompanying my Dad on all kinds of fishing vacations. I’m truly looking out for his best interest. Obviously, I’m being sarcastic, but the truth is that it won’t be that long before we do have to start taking care of our parents. It can be an uncomfortable and unfamiliar situation, which is why resources like Caring.com exist. Caring.com is based in San Mateo, CA and “is the leading online destination for those seeking information and support as they care for aging parents, spouses, and other loved ones.” Their tagline is “You’re there for them. We’re here for you.” Continue reading about Caring.com…
You know how I know that I’m cool? I saw the Bed Intruder Song video (if you haven’t seen it yet, watch the original version first) on YouTube before you and pretty much everyone else who saw it. Pop culture fluency used to be based on your generation, but now it seems that it has more to do with when you last signed online. If you want to be as cool as I am, you may want to start using BuzzFeed. It’s a website and New York City based company that publishes and tracks viral media. They won’t tell you what’s hot this year or this week, but what’s hot right now this second. It may not seem all that important now, but when you’re out with your friends and they’re referencing the latest YouTube craze, you don’t want to have to sneak away to the bathroom to watch on your phone. Continue reading about BuzzFeed…
Yesterday, we talked about a non-profit that helps people work towards personal financial responsibility. Today, we’re going to look at an organization that helps our country do it as a group. Imagine that you are at a restaurant. It’s pretty expensive, but you’ve got some money, so you’re going to have a nice dinner. But there’s a twist. Instead of paying for your dinner, you have to pay for the people who sat at your table before you; and the people who sit down next will have to pay for yours. That foie gras is looking good now, isn’t it? This is how the federal government works. They don’t worry about what they can afford now—they just let someone else pay the bill in the future. If the Congressional Budget Office’s latest predictions are any indication, those of us who are in our 20s are going to get stuck with a pretty hefty tab. It’s the biggest problem facing our generation, yet very few people talk about it. We’re going to be the group that gets screwed—the one that has to pay the tab for the people before us while also paying for our own tab. Just you wait. Not only will we be the generation that stumbles into the “real world” due to a terrible recession, but we’ll also be the one that actually pays for everyone else’s extravagance. Luckily, there are organizations like Taxpayers for Common Sense that aim to reign in the federal government’s wasteful spending. They are a Washington, DC based “non-partisan budget watchdog serving as an independent voice for American taxpayers.” Continue reading about Taxpayers for Common Sense…
When I have a personal finance question, curiosity, or problem, I look to Ramit Sethi for help. His book I Will Teach You To Be Rich
When I’m doing my daily research and looking for interesting jobs or internships, I often find postings on third party job boards. I’m not a big fan of job boards, so I try to go directly to the employer’s site to get information on the opportunities. Today I was Googling an internship, and the first result was completely unrelated. Luckily, it was a way more interesting internship with Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. It’s the world’s largest underground aquarium, and it’s just the kind of place that you might end up at during a summer vacation road trip. They say it’s like scuba diving without getting wet. There are 1.2 million gallons of water, and there’s a “300 foot-long curved tunnel, complete with a moving walkway that simulates a scuba diving adventure.” Underwater Adventures has sharks, octopuses, jellyfish, and all kinds of fish, and you can watch them all get fed. They even offer birthday parties where you can sleep with the sharks. Continue reading about Underwater Adventures Aquarium…
I honestly can’t tell you when the last time that I picked up a newspaper was. It’s not that I’m sequestering myself from current events, it’s just that I do most of my media consumption online because it’s so easy. Obviously, attitudes like mine are causing a lot of distress in the newspaper industry, but I think there’s still a great business in delivering quality content. One area where online media kicks traditional media’s butt is in grabbing eyeballs. Sensationalism sells, and most newspapers still haven’t grasped that. However, tabloids, especially those based in New York, have always known how to get attention. That’s why there’s a good chance that I’ll pick up a copy of the New York Daily News if it’s sitting on a table at the coffee shop that my parents like to take me to back in Connecticut (where I’m headed this morning). It may not be the most reliable source for information or the most academic, but you have to love the fact that the New York Daily News understands the psychology of its readers and uses that knowledge to convince them to read. It doesn’t matter how great the writing is if nobody reads it. Continue reading about New York Daily News…
A company’s marketing is usually done by one of two groups—an internal marketing team or an integrated marketing agency that is hired by the company. I’m sure there are some exceptions, but most brands fall into one of those two buckets; however, marketing software is carving out a growing piece of marketing budgets. Automation is a wonderful thing, and as marketing becomes more analytics and results based, automation gets easier. Agencies and marketing teams aren’t anywhere near being replaced by computers (but I guess it’s possible in the future), but software can really change how brands approach their marketing. Aprimo is an Indianapolis, IN based company that provides integrated marketing software. They serve both B2B and B2C clients with software that aids in areas including “campaign management, lead management, brand management, e-mail marketing, event management, performance management, social marketing, spend management, and workflow & project management.” Continue reading about Aprimo…
My family is in Colorado Springs this week, and we’re staying at an amazing ranch on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. Yesterday we went back to civilization for the first time, and we decided to visit Cripple Creek—an old mining town that was home to “the last great Colorado gold rush” and more than half a billion dollars in gold ore. Unfortunately gold mining can only last so long, and Cripple Creek eventually became a ghost town. In 1991 voters legalized gambling in Cripple Creek, and the city was reinvigorated, albeit with most of the storefronts inhabited with gaming establishments. Our visit was interrupted by a massive hail storm, so we waited in the car until it let up a bit and ran into the first restaurant we could find. Turns out that it was a restaurant inside of a casino, and we had to walk past a bunch of slots and other machines to get a bite to eat. Of course, I couldn’t make it past the Game King video poker machine without playing, and luckily I came away from “lunch” 90 bucks richer. That gave me the idea to take a look at IGT (International Game Technology), the Reno, NV based gaming company that designs and manufactures the Game King machine among many other casino machines. Continue reading about IGT…
If you’re anything like me, you’ve run into this problem before. You’re sitting around the house, and your lab mice are frolicking around. One of them starts misbehaving and you need to scold it, but you can’t because you don’t know it’s name. They all look the same, and you are completely clueless as to who the troublemaker is. Ok, I actually don’t have mice in my house, and I hope that you don’t either, but if you’ve ever worked with lab mice you probably know that identifying them is kind of important.Somark Innovation is a San Diego, CA based company that makes that a lot easier. They’ve developed technology called Labstamp that “applies automated tail tattoos for mouse identification.” The tattoos are human readable, permanent, and available with 46,656 unique alpha-numeric IDs. Continue reading about Somark Innovations…
Watching the fighter jets scream across the sky during practice runs for the Chicago Air and Water show reminded me of September 11th. I was standing on the beach watching smoke billow from the Twin Towers and could see fighter jets—the only planes in the sky—cruising along as they patrolled the air. I also remember having a sense of anger, and wanting to have someone to blame for the atrocities. I think that most people shared that feeling, at least initially, but some were far less rational about how they dealt with it. September 11th was obviously a terrible day for every American, but it was also the day when life got much harder for people in American of Arab, Muslim, South Asian and other backgrounds. That’s why Seattle, WA based OneAmerica (formerly Hate Free Zone) was founded immediately after September 11th. Their mission is “to advance the fundamental principles of democracy and justice through building power in immigrant communities, in collaboration with key allies.” Continue reading about OneAmerica…
Today we’re going to start with a mind boggling fact. Half of human deaths since the stone age can be attributed to malaria. Half. Starvation, war, cancer, AIDS, and natural disasters have nothing on a tiny little parasite. Chances are that you grew up in a place without malaria. You may have used insect repellent, but was to avoid having an annoying buzz in your ear and a few itchy bumps on your arms or legs. It wasn’t a life or death situation. Unfortunately, in much of the world—especially Africa—a little bug bite can lead to your ultimate demise. Malaria remains one of the biggest problems that the human species faces with 250 million annual cases and 850,000 annual deaths. This costs African nations $12 billion in lost productivity ever year, while consuming 40% of all hospital expenditures. Malaria No More is a New York City based non-profit organization that believes that fighting malaria is “the best humanitarian investment” that can be made right now. They’ve only been around since 2006, but they’ve already done some great work to curb the damage done by malaria. Continue reading about Malaria No More…
I was considering writing about McDonnell Douglas after having my apartment building buzzed by F-18s all day yesterday (they’re practicing for the Chicago Air and Water Show), but I had a friend send me a link to a posting that was way too cool to pass up. It’s from the venture capital industry, which is notoriously hard to break into. Lowercase Capital is a new Angel Fund that was launched in June by Chris Sacca, who was formerly the Head of Special Initiatives at Google. I’ve spoken with a few venture capital companies who were interested in my business, and most seemed buttoned up (at least compared to the startups that they invest in). This is definitely not the case with Lowercase Capital, unless you mean buttoned up with a Bolo tie. Yes, Lowercase Capital has a Western theme, which is fitting because they’re located in Truckee, CA (I was in Truckee two days ago, and it’s awesome). It almost seems gimmicky, but the whole thing really speaks to how Chris is trying to change the way venture capital works with Lowercase. Continue reading about Lowercase Capital…
I don’t play Facebook games with one exception—a game that a friend built. I guess this makes me unusual (I do play iPhone games though) because the stats on Facebook games are crazy. It’s hard to believe that anybody gets work done these days. If only there was a Facebook game where winning meant you’d landed an internship. That’s not going to happen, so if you insist on Facebook gaming your way through the internship search, then you better be looking to work for a company like Lolapps. They’re based on San Francisco, and they make Facebook games. They actually started with a user-generated quiz business, then they moved on to building games for well-known brands. Now, they’re focused on becoming their own gaming brand. Their current products include games like Garden Life, Band of Heroes, Diva Life, Yakuza Lords, and a few more. I’m sure they’re working on plenty more as they try to grow their name in the ultra-competitive world of Facebook games. Continue reading about Lolapps…
Yesterday I was walking around in a variety/novelty/toy shop. It’s the typical vacation town toy store with all kinds of goofy stuff. As soon as I went through the door I regressed back to about 8 years old. I was picking up everything and playing with it—cap guns, balsa wood airplanes, and the avenging narwhal play set
I think that some of the biggest innovation yet to come in the Internet space is going to be in the form of payment processing. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if one day in the future we pay for almost everything by logging into our Facebook/Google/Amazon accounts. That still seems pretty far off though. The lag in easy online payments can probably be attributed to the need for extremely high levels of security. As soon as it’s ridiculously simple to send a friend money to chip in for a group gift, it’s also going to be ridiculously simple for a hacker to take you for all you’re worth. In the meantime there are some companies that are working to develop transitional solutions for payment processing. San Francisco’s Square is one of them. They have developed a software platform that allows anyone to accept credit card payments. It all started when a glass artist was unable to make a sale because he couldn’t accept credit cards. Now, all you need is an iPhone/iPad or an Android device to do just that. Continue reading about Square…
Looking good is key to interviewing well. If you’re not confident in how you look, you won’t be confident in how you speak. Clothes matter. Luckily, dressing well doesn’t have to be expensive. We’ve worked out deals to get you $50 off your first order at Bonobos and free access to Gilt Groupe’s daily sample sales. You’ll look good, feel good, and still have some money left to celebrate landing a new internship.
August is typically a big vacation month, so it can sometimes be hard to stay focused on your internship search. If you’re taking a vacation yourself, you may want to thing about the brands that you associate with vacation. For me, it’s often L.L. Bean because I end up spending most of my time enjoying the outdoors—and that usually includes some of their gear. They’ve been “a trusted source for quality apparel, reliable outdoor equipment and expert advice for more than 95 years.” It all started with one man named Leon Leonwood Bean and some cold wet feet. He decided to combine the comfort of leather boots with the durability and functionality of rubber work boots. He then obtained the mailing list for Maine hunting license holders and sent them a three-page flyer about his new boots. L.L. guaranteed that people would be satisfied with his boots, and he had to eat his words. Of the first 100 pairs that he sold, 90 were returned for defects. that would put a lot of people out of business, but not L.L. Bean, which continues to be located in Freeport, ME to this day. Continue reading about L.L. Bean…
Growing up is tough no matter where you come from. As you reach your teenage years, you have to start taking responsibility for yourself—your grades, your ambitions, and your diet. Now imagine growing up in a situation where your parents aren’t all that helpful and your community and its schools don’t have the resources to give you the help that you need to get on the right track. This is often the case in inner-city neighborhoods across America, and this includes many communities in the greater Los Angeles area. That’s why Calabasas, CA based SOSMentor was formed in 2000. They’re a non-profit organization that provides “academic mentoring, resources, and educational support to underserved students and their families.” They also put a huge emphasis on diet and fitness, which are really important things to learn about as you enter adulthood. Continue reading about SOSMentor…
I didn’t watch The Real Housewives of DC the night before last, but it may have been playing in the background while I was trying to fall asleep. Besides hearing people Obama name drop often enough that you could make a college drinking game out of watching the show, I also noticed that lobbying was mentioned multiple times. I don’t really get how lobbying works, but I know that anyone (or I should say any entity) with a political agenda pretty much has to participate. For every interest there is a lobbying group, and some are far more powerful than others. Often this power goes against the public interest. U.S. PIRG is a non-profit federation of state Public Interest Research Groups that “stands up to powerful special interests on behalf of the American public, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being.” They’re headquartered in Boston, MA; however, they have a Federal Advocacy Office in Washington, DC and state chapters all across the country. Oddly enough U.S. PIRG and its affiliates have chosen to fight lobbying and special interests by being a lobbying group. I understand that they’re fighting for the public interest, but that’s still a special interest, right? Continue reading about U.S. PIRG…
Looking good is key to interviewing well. If you’re not confident in how you look, you won’t be confident in how you speak. Clothes matter. Luckily, dressing well doesn’t have to be expensive. We’ve worked out deals to get you $50 off your first order at Bonobos and free access to Gilt Groupe’s daily sample sales. You’ll look good, feel good, and still have some money left to celebrate landing a new internship.
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I have quite a bit of traveling ahead of me. I’m hoping to spend a good portion of the time reading books, but I have to admit that I’ve been terrible about reading lately. Running a business makes it hard enough to find time to read, and when I do have time, it seems that my laptop makes it too easy to read articles and blog posts. I’m also torn about whether I should buy more hard copy books or invest in an e-reading device like an iPad or Kindle (it seems the Kindle is the winner for heavy readers). You’re probably thinking about how you don’t care about my reading habits, but they’re actually really important when looked at through the lens of a company like Hachette Book Group. If a big reader like me is reading fewer books, then they have some big challenges ahead of them. And that’s why the publishing industry is an exciting place to be right now. Hachette, which is headquartered in New York City, has a simple mission: “to publish great books well.” From 1837 when Little, Brown and Company was founded (they’re now part of Hachette), up until just a few years ago, the way they went about pursuing that mission didn’t change much. Lately, it’s been changing a lot. Continue reading about Hachette Book Group…
When I was a little kid, my parents dressed me in shorts with suspenders and knee socks. I pretty much looked like a mini-version of Augustus Gloop from the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. My parents also occasionally put me on a leash. I’ve been taking it out on them ever since. For parents who prefer to raise children who don’t have axes to grind, there’s Tea Collection. I’ve also seen them go by Tea Living, but most often they just refer to themselves as Tea. They’re a San Francisco based company that offers fashions for children, or as they put it “for little citizens of the world.” Tea got its start in 2002, and now your can find their clothes “in more than 400 stores including Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Takashimaya, and the best boutiques throughout the US and abroad.” Tea’s clothing is certainly high-end, and on the expensive side when you consider it’s for kids under the age of 12, but just look at those pictures of kids looking like smaller versions of real people. Continue reading about Tea Collection…
Been anywhere interesting this summer? I’ve already been to San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Napa, Denver, Northern Michigan, Boston, and I’ll be visiting Lake Tahoe, Colorado Springs, Northern Quebec, Connecticut, and New York City before the summer is over. Oddly enough, none of those destinations have been my choice. It’s always been someone else who has planned the trip. I guess that makes me useless for Development Counsellors International, a New York City based PR and Marketing firm that is “the leader in marketing places.” They obviously want to reach the decision makers, since they’re the people who drive economic development by choosing places to visit, invest in, or live in. If it has to do with economic development or tourism marketing, then it’s DCI’s specialty. Continue reading about Development Counsellors International…
It seems that most PR and Marketing firms are started by people who have been in the industry for years. They know their field well, but they may not fully understand the businesses of their clients. Upward Strategy is a little different. It is a New York City based digital strategy firm that helps “organizations chart and execute a powerful, results-driven product, communications and engagement strategy online.” Ok, that doesn’t sound all that unique. What’s different about Upward Strategy is that its ideas are born out of the entrepreneurial experience of the company’s founder and CEO, Rachel Sterne. She only graduated from NYU in 2005, but she’s already put together an impressive track record of entrepreneurship, and she’s even been named one of America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs by BusinessWeek. It’s hard to tell whether there are any other employees at Upward Strategy besides Rachel—I couldn’t find any on LinkedIn—however, that’s about to change. Continue reading about Upward Strategy…
